A Hollowfied Tragedy
by I am the Bird of Hermes
Summary: When Kaneki dies at Arima's hands, he finds himself in Hueco Mundo where he becomes something nobody has never seen before. Both a Ghoul and a Hollow with memories of his past life intact, what impact will Kaneki's existance have? What will Aizen do when he gets his hands on him? Has his past really left him behind? Most of all, what will Kaneki do? Mixture between anime and manga.
1. Chapter 1

**Honesty, I admit that this story was inspired by Denim88's story Cracked Mask in which Naruto turns into a Hollow. I've read some Hollow Harry Potter stories as well, but not many others so I thought I would do a Bleach crossover with one of my favourite anime of all time: Tokyo Ghoul. I am really looking forward to writing this story I can imagine the worlds of Bleach and Tokyo Ghoul coexisting as one single world, example being that I can easily write off Karakura Town as having no Ghouls simply due to it being a remote town situated far away from Tokyo.**

 **By the way, the time period is set five years prior to the beginning of Bleach and on the night of the CCG raid in the Twentieth Ward.**

 **Rated M for gory violence, moderate course language and some adult themes here and there. Then again, Tokyo Ghoul ain't a kid's show of course.**

 **I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul.**

 **XXXXX**

The boy desperately tried to breathe, but it was a futile task. It was like trying to swallow air through a funnel that was completely filled with wet paper. He was slowly, but surely drowning as his lungs filled up. Blood was collecting in the back of his throat and he couldn't even muster the strength needed to reach up and remove his mask.

Both his arms and legs felt as though some idiot had taken a wooden baseball bat to them multiple times. He was also certain that several of his bones had been broken as well.

' _Hide.'_

Maybe if he could just roll onto his side then he would be able to-.

A single boot slammed down on his stomach, right where he had been stabbed multiple times. He tried to scream, but wasn't able to make a single noise. His one remaining eye was just about to make out the shape standing over him.

Glasses. Tall and thin. Lots of white.

The battle was still raging on, the one that he had been a part of. He could hear it all, gunfire, screams and the occasional explosion going off in the distance. Was this really the end for him?

' _Hinami.'_

The boy broke eye contact and turned his deteriorating vision to the side; he just didn't care anymore. He was tired of it, of everything. The pain, the suffering, the sadness, it had been too much for him right from the very start.

' _Touka-chan.'_

Not for the first time, he wished that he had died back then on that night.

Was that really too much to ask for?

Ken Kaneki died all alone at the hands of Arima.

XXXXX

Kaneki continued to watch the CCG clean up. The last of the dead were being recovered while the burning piles continued to give off the smell of cooking meat. The deceased boy wasn't worried about the human presence; he couldn't touch them and they couldn't see him.

All of the unattended bodies were Ghouls, having been left for last. After the battle, each Ghoul had had their _**Kagune**_ ripped from their corpse and been left to bleed on the street by the CCG. Afterwards, the Ghouls had been gathered in piles and torched.

His included, along with Enji-san's and Kaya-san's.

The mere sight of the macabre act had caused him to completely lose control of his composure. He had tried to rip the soldiers apart with his bare hands – only to pass right through them as though they weren't even there.

Or as if he wasn't even there.

Despite calming down, Kaneki had found himself wishing that he hadn't spared a single soldier the night before, even _him_. After that, he had decided to do some experimentation and he had quickly discovered that while he no longer possessed _**Kagune**_ , he still had his single _**Kakugan**_ eye.

The pain producing from the chain in his chest wasn't helping him cope at all.

XXXXX

The next morning, after the CCG had left, Kaneki, still wearing the clothes that he had died in minus his mask, went out to find what had happened to the others. He might have come around his death rather quickly, he wanted to know what had happened to the others.

Touka-chan, Hinami, Hide, Nishiki, Yoshimura-san, Tsukiyama, Yomo-san.

He spent several days hunting around Tokyo, looking for any sign of them, only to be met with failure. After three full days and checking his old university campus for Hide, he had been forced to conclude that that they had ether all gone into hiding or were dead. If he had died prior to the Aogiri Tree incident, he probably would have prayed for their safety or something like that, despite not even being religious. Now he just wasn't that type of person.

He had seen a public news bulletin stating the final casualty report from the battle between the CCG and the Aogiri Tree in the Twentieth Ward: ninety seven Ghouls dead along with thirty three "murdered" CCG humans though Kaneki suspected that the Doves were lying through their teeth about their losses. There hadn't been any mention of his friends nor of any aliases that they had used except for himself, Enji-san and Kaya-san and a few low ranked Aogiri Tree members.

Leaning against the glass window of the cafeteria where he and Hide would meet and eat together, Kaneki looked on as the last of last of the students went home for the day. He doubted not even one of them had even noticed his disappearance. That was fine with him, it meant less hassle.

Fingering his self-dubbed "Chest-Chain", Kaneki contemplated the chain, still curious about its' significance. Over time, the dull pain had been getting worse with each passing day, though it was nothing that Kaneki couldn't handle, although he was worried about it.

A loud high-pitched roar startled Kaneki.

At that same moment, the pain his Chest-Chain was producing began to rise.

Whirling to face the noise, he was beheld with the sight of a monster standing on the roof of the university. The noise it was making reminded Kaneki of tearing metal. It was large, almost twelve feet tall with a vague humanoid shape. Its entire body was covered in green fur, yet obviously well-muscled. It also had a hole in its chest and a bone white mask that was shaped similarly to that of a sparrow's skull.

What the hell? That thing, whatever it was, was clearly not a Ghoul.

The monster, whatever the hell it was called, was prowling back and forth along the roof almost like a cat. It seemed to be staring at something on ground level. Following its eyes, Kaneki's landed on a pair of girls that had just passed the gate, one with blue hair. Turning back to stare at the monster, Kaneki was struck with a bad feeling: the pacing back and forth, the clear impatience. Its behaviour, it almost reminded him of….

"No," Kaneki muttered. Unbeknownst to him, he subconsciously began running even as the monster jumped. He sped across the concrete even as it landed twenty metres ahead with its back to him, focusing its attention on the students that Kaneki had no illusions over what it intended to do with them.

Despite his effort, it was clear to see that he wouldn't reach them in time. As soon as he had started, Kaneki began to slow down, resigning himself to the fact that he had failed more innocents. By the time the monster had reached the students, he had completely come to a halt.

However, Kaneki found himself absolutely gobsmacked when a katana-wielding woman who was well endowed and dressed in black appeared, jumped into the air and sliced off the monster's arm as it flow over her head. The woman landed gracefully whilst the monster tripped and fell over, screeching in agony.

" **You bitch!"** it screamed, turning to face its' attacker. **"I'll fucking kill you!"**

Far back, Kaneki was only able to get a glimpse of the stranger. She wore a black, loose, kimono that was easily as dark as night itself. She had long wavy blond hair along with blue eyes that were currently focusing on the monster. If he had to guess, Kaneki would say that she was a good ten years older than him.

Despite the situation, the woman smirked of all things.

"Try me."

With that having been said, she moved, ducking under the monster's stabbing beak and slammed her sword against a set of claws aiming for her head.

As the two continued to fight, Kaneki circled them, trying to get a better view of the battle. As he moved, Kaneki couldn't help, but groan through gritted teeth as his chest ached. Doing his best to ignore it, Kaneki advanced closer to the fight between the woman and the monster.

He stopped when he noticed something odd.

The students, including the ones that he had temporarily tried to save, were acting as though nothing was going on around them. In fact, they were completely ignoring the monster and the woman that had saved their lives.

Kaneki's mind processed this for a few seconds before he came to one inevitable conclusion:

 _They couldn't see them._

His realisation was startling, but opened up the door to even more possibilities.

Were they ghosts like him?

Kaneki's wanderings were interrupted when the woman was smashed through the window that he had been standing right next to, making him reflexively flinch away. He turned back the noticed the monster, having somehow regrown its arm, was staring at him. A thick, wormlike, tongue slithered out of its mouth and sild along the edges of its beak.

" **You look tasty,"** it chittered darkly, like it was comparing Kaneki to a hunk of meat.

Kaneki, despite this, was not disturbed in any way. It was far from the first time that he had been told this. He had questions that needed answers and he would beat this thing into the ground to get them if he had to.

"What are you?" he didn't want to sound demanding, but it came out less polite then he had wanted.

Pain suddenly began to blossom from his chest, even more so then before. Kaneki couldn't stop the cry that erupted from his mouth as he clutched his chest. His legs wavered and he collapsed on the ground. He looked down and was shocked it see mouths with teeth forming on the chain. Kaneki started to panic.

What the fuck was this?

The monster laughed, either oblivious to his agony or not caring.

" **Hahaha! That's completely hilarious that you, a Plus, don't know that. I'm a Hollow, I eat everything I can get my hands on whether they be human, Plus or Shinigami. I actually saw you try to stop me earlier. After I skin that bitch I'm gonna ea-.**

Its' endless tirade was interrupted by a strange incantation.

" _ **Hadō No. 31: Shakkahō"**_

A large beam of red-hot fire shot straight past Kaneki and scored a direct hit on the Hollow's shoulder, covering the space surrounding it in smoke. It quickly cleared and Kaneki saw that the attack had burnt off its' right shoulder along with some of its chest as well.

The pain continued to intensify. Kaneki started to scream, his matched only by the Hollow's.

His vision began to deteriorate. Despite this, Kaneki was just able to make out the woman rushing past him to combat the Hollow, the students walking away in the distance, their backs to him.

"Hang on, I can help you! Just hang in there a while longer!"

Whether she was actually addressing him or not, he didn't know. Even if she was, Kaneki knew that she wouldn't be able to.

He knew that this was it for him.

" _ **Growl, Haineko!"**_

Just as the last of his strength left him, Kaneki, perhaps by pure coincidence, noticed a girl in the distance, one of the ones that he had tried to save, the one with the blue hair.

Kaneki felt as though someone had punched him in the gut when she turned around to stare at the university.

Touka-chan.

Kaneki tried to force himself up and was able to push himself off the ground using his hands, even as his senses continued to deteriorate-.

His sudden burst of strength was gone as quickly as it had appeared and he fell. The last thing Kaneki saw was Touka turning and walking away.

As Kaneki began to experience nothingness, he felt two powerful emotions swelling up inside of him.

Happiness that Touka was alright and sadness that he couldn't even say goodbye.

Somewhere in the back of his head, he could hear Rize laughing in delight.

XXXXX

Matsumoto Rangiku, Lieutenant of the 10th Squad, couldn't remember the last time that she had been forced to take a fight this seriously. Although in her defence if it wasn't for the dumbass limiter she would have already killed this stupid Hollow, a rather viscous Adjuchas that had dared to call her breasts "saggy".

That and the fact that she was fighting to finish this as fast as possible so that she could save that Plus from hollowification.

Even right now Rangiku heard the boy's pained cries decreasing in volume, meaning that he didn't have much time left to deal with the Hollow.

" _ **Growl, Haineko!"**_

Armed with new resolve and her _**Shikai**_ , Rangiku grinned as her blade transformed into ash. Not even giving the bird-like Hollow a chance to register the threat, she Shunpoed inside of its' guard.

With a wave of her hand, the Hollow was engulfed by her cloud of ash, then torn to ribbons.

Not even waiting to watch the Hollow dissolve, Rangiku quickly slipped out of _**Shikai**_. She then turned to the boy, already preparing to perform Soul Burial with her sword.

Rangiku froze as soon as she saw the boy.

White material was spilling out from his now enlarging Hollow hole, having spread up his body and was now in the process of moving over his shaking arms and legs as well. A white mask was already forming over his pale, pained face. He looked to his left and Rangiku was able to see his eyes; while the right one was black with a yellow pupil, a sign often associated with hollowification the other one was a deep shade of red with red veins forming across the eye.

As Rangiku broke out of her shock and attempted to stop the process from completing, the boy disappeared into nothingness, now a new Hollow on its' way to Hueco Mundo.

Rangiku stood here with her eyes widened in horror for several moments, trying to maintain her composure as best as she could. Still, she couldn't stop the overwhelming feeling resinating from her heart that said that she had failed that boy. Suddenly, she was angry, at herself for not being fast enough and at that Hollow for slowing her down. Rangiku suddenly found herself wishing that it was still alive so that she could kill it again. Maybe she should have captured it and given it to Kurosuchi to play with.

Eventually, after standing there for a while, Rangiku left, but not before muttering a quick prayer that another Shinigami found that boy and send him off to Soul Society.

XXXXX

Kirishima Touka stopped as she felt something touch the back of her neck. Frowning, she glanced back at the university. Nothing seemed out of order. There was some rather strong winds sweeping through, autumn leaves flying like kites. The sun setting in the distance portrayed the scene in a rather spectacular manner.

Touka mentally scoffed at the notion that she had actually felt something and turned away. She _might_ have taken the time to admire the sunset, but not now. Right now she was still silently grieving.

Yoshimura-san, Enji, Kaya and Kaneki were all dead. While Yoshimura's moniker as the One-Eyed Owl hadn't been listed as one of the casualties on the news, Touka knew that he would have stayed with the others no matter what.

Yoshimura had been like a father to her, Enji and Kaya she had loved like elder siblings and Kaneki-.

She shook her head, banishing those thoughts from her skull.

Even the thought of their deaths made her want to cry. She properly would have if she hadn't run out of tears days ago.

Having Hinami and Yomo-san had helped her cope with her grief and she was thankful. She had no illusions over the list of things she might have done if they hadn't been there. Probably would have charged straight into CCG headquarters with her _**Kagune**_ out and swinging in a suicide charge. If she hadn't been hardened by losing both her father and her brother she would have even if Hinami and Yomo-san had tried to stop her.

Touka knew that she needed to stay strong for Hinami. The poor girl had no one else left except for her. So she would get stronger and would not stop until she was stronger than any other Ghoul in Tokyo.

XXXXX

Kaneki groaned as he slowly gained conscious.

The first thing that he became aware of was that he was lying in sand. Tiny grains moved in-between his fingers as he clenched both hands. Moving slowly, he raised himself so that he was upright with his knees and feet supporting him.

Looking around at the deserted landscape, Kaneki found himself confused and slightly frightened at his unknown surroundings: miles and miles of endless sand reaching in every direction that he looked, pale and lifeless under the night sky. Though there was some slivery trees extending from the ground not far away.

The next thing he noticed was how strange he felt. His limbs felt long and powerful, better than they had ever been before. He brought up a hand for inspection and was shocked to see that it along with the rest of his arm was covered in a strange white material. There was also some weird hole in his hand thought it didn't hurt. The material was very tough, as evidenced when he decided to rap a clawed finger against it. Looking down he saw that the rest of his body was covered in the same material, fitting him perfectly like a swimsuit. It showed off the muscles in his arms, legs, chest and stomach. Kaneki was puzzled when he noticed what appeared to be a thick, long belt with vertical black and white stripes that was wrapped around his stomach. Kaneki also noted that the material covering his elbows, knees and neck were black.

Kaneki tried to take a step forward. To his surprise, as soon as his foot slammed into the ground a heavy gust of wind erupted forth and knocked the sand surrounding him several feet away. Blinking in surprise, Kaneki waited a moment before trying again. This time were was no blast of air. Kaneki took several more steps before breaking into a small run, stopping after he had run fifty metres. When he stopped, he noticed that he had grown in height, reaching just under six feet. Looking down, he saw that each of his toes had what appeared to be dark talons, each one larger than his new claws.

Next, he reached up and touched the top of his head with both hands. He felt hair so he grabbed a strand and pulled without hesitation. Examining the hair, Kaneki saw they were still the same white as before. He ran his hands over his face and to his shock instinctively tried to pull it off. Kaneki instantly stopped. He knew from the touch that the white material was covering his face, but the shape of it had surprised him. Not because it was different, but because it felt as though he was wearing the Ghoul mask that Uta-san had made for him, but with no eyepatch. His fingers travelled downwards until they touched his mouth and Kaneki was shocked to discover that he had no lips, exposing his teeth. Touching them revealed that they had become fangs. Kaneki fingered the tip of one and winced when he cut himself despite his caution.

Kaneki felt that he should have panicked, but instead he felt curious about his current situation. Looking around with his eyes, he spotted the large trees that he had seen earlier.

That direction then. He idly cracked his index finger.

XXXXX

Roughly an hour later, Kaneki found his first signs of life.

Or rather they found him.

A shadow had been his only warning. Kaneki had ducked under a blow aimed for his head. He spun, but a strong kick slammed him into a sand dune. With sand distorting his vision, Kaneki wasn't able to see his attacker. The force behind a second blow as he was getting up knocked him through the mountain of sand and sent him skidding away.

Kaneki instinctively dug his claws and talons into the ground, stopping him. He groaned, the last hit had hurt a lot. He looked where he had come from and saw that were five attackers. To his surprise, they resembled that monster that the woman had called a Hollow except that there smaller and all had different masks, though the smallest easily had three feet on him.

One that had a walrus mask with large fins for arms stepped forward and spoke. Its' unnerving yellow eyes stared at him.

" **You know I actually thought that you looked tough, thought I guess that I was wrong. You'll be an easy meal for us."**

A second Hollow eyed him carefully. **"What kind of Hollow is he anyway? He's obviously ain't a Gillian. He resembles a Vasto Lorde though he feels more like a high class Adjuchas to me."**

A third shrugged. **"Does it matter how strong he is? Together we can kill him."**

With that said the third, who also happened to be the smallest charged at Kaneki and swung a large fist at him before he could even take in what they had said.

Kaneki reacted instinctively. Something moved underneath his belt, squirming to get free. A second later, two large black tentacles with white veins erupted from his lower back and blocked the punch. A gasp of surprise escaped from Kaneki's mouth.

"What the! Are these _**Kagune**_?" It certainly was without a doubt, although they were different from before. The colour was off, they were larger in length then his first one had been and slightly thicker as well. They felt stronger as well, like really, really strong. If he had been blind he would have sworn he was using his _**Kakuja**_ instead.

Bringing the two predatory organs together, Kaneki effortlessly crushed the Hollow's hand into mush. Blood went everywhere as the Hollow began to scream and curse. Some of it landed in Kaneki's mouth and he tasted it.

Amazing. It tasted like human flesh only better. Kaneki's taste buds were practically dancing.

A grin forming under his mask, Kaneki jumped over a second punch and landed on the Hollow's shoulders and brought his _**Kagune**_ down on top of its' skull.

It was dead before his feet even landed back on the ground.

With the Hollow's headless corpse lying behind him, Kaneki eyed its' fellows in the same way that they had him, although with more wildness and excitement.

Subconsciously, he cracked his finger.

"Who's next?" he asked.

XXXXX

Half an hour later and satisfied from the five meals that he had eaten, Kaneki could already feel the strength from those that he had eaten inside of him. He was looking forward to trying out that _**Cero**_ attack that he had seen. The extra power wasn't that noticeable, but Kaneki could feel it along with the knowledge that he had gained, much to his surprise.

Not actual words, but small flashes of memories that weren't his own. He saw himself being rising up from the other Hollows before his lust for power had grown and he had gone all around Hueco Mundo, killing weaker ones and gathering strong one for his group.

Pulling himself out of the memories before he got too caught up in them, Kaneki sat back and absorbed everything that he had learned.

He was a Hollow, the same as the ones that had attacked him, creatures that were basically the supernatural equivalent of Ghouls, only obviously much stronger. If he had fought the five Hollows prior to becoming one then he would have certainly lost. As a Hollow, however, he had completely slaughtered them with little trouble whatsoever. Then there were these Shinigami who contained the Hollows like the CCG did with Ghouls. They were strong as well, much stronger the CCG. Some were-.

Kaneki stopped his musing when he sensed something. He stilled. After the last ambush, he had kept his senses open to avoid a repeat. Listening to the sound of sand being trodden on, Kaneki turned and caught his stalker staring down at him from the top of a nearby dune.

It wasn't a Hollow, but it wore a large white mask. The figure wore a brown fur coat over a dark kimono that had obviously seen better days. They also had a sword in one hand and a shield made of bone in the other.

Kaneki frowned. Who the hell was that?

 **XXXXX**

 **Tell me all what you think and review. See ya next time!**

 **Question: How do you feel about Wonderweiss being made Kaneki's fracción?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi, everyone. I am glad that people like my story and it has helped me write at a faster pace. Some people have gone to the effort to ask me some questions so I thought that I would that I would share them with everyone else. Also to** **NecrorexSparda Juubi-No-Kishin** **,** **The-Proto-Crab** **,** **ultron emperor** **and** **WPatton9210** **, thanks for the reviews. If anyone has any questions then please do ask, but understand that I cannot give away too much.**

 **About Kaneki's growth, the only things that I am certain of is that he is going be become an Arrancar and then an Espada. Once he joins them he will continue to get stronger and his Resurrection will be based on his Kakuja. Currently, his power falls just short of a vice-captain Shinigami, on par with a fifth or fourth seat. He will make some friends, but I'm not certain about where I stand on a pairing. Wonderweiss will be partnered with Kaneki (though I considered one of the former Espada, but that didn't work out) and his role will be slightly changed.**

 **Ghouls cannot see Shinigami or Hollows just like humans. In regards to what happens to them when they die I am not sure. I'm sure that a large percentage would go to Hell, though I'm not sure about the rest. Kaneki was able to become a Hollow because spiritually speaking he was still human despite his physical body being half Ghoul.**

 **Also since I didn't mention it before, this story is a mixture between the manga and anime of both series.**

 **I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul blah, blah, blah.**

 **XXXXX**

Kaneki stared at the masked figure who looked right back at him. Feeling perplexed by the unknown's behaviour, Kaneki slowly stood up. Subtly, he began to move his _**Kagune**_ to the surface of his skin just in case while the figure remained as still as a statue.

Kaneki's eyes quirked in confusion. "Who are you?"

He didn't get a response.

Kaneki frowned as he began to feel some strange vibes coming off of the stranger. He had learnt, thanks to the Hollows that he had devoured, that both Shinigami and Hollows let off an energy called Reiatsu and this one felt similar to that woman's who had tried to help him in the world of the living

If so then chances were that this guy was going to be hostile considering that he was a Hollow.

Kaneki's _**Kagune**_ sprouted forth from his back like angry serpents at the exact same moment that the Shinigami attacked. Jumping over a swinging tentacle, he swung his sword in an overhead arch, aiming for Kaneki's head.

Kaneki's _**Kagune**_ reached up and blocked the blow. His attacker landed on the ground and Kaneki pushed him off, sending him skidding back several metres. Kaneki instantly went on the attack, chasing after the Shinigami while both of his tentacles aimed for the man's chest.

The Shinigami disappeared.

Kaneki eyes went wide. _'What the fuc-.'_

He gasped as something sliced through his flesh from behind, cutting through his toughened skin as though it was paper. Kaneki jumped, flying over the Shinigami's head. He sent one of his _**Kagune**_ to attack him, but the predatory organ was blocked by the man's bone shield.

"Too slow."

The Shinigami pushed his _**Kagune**_ away and disappeared again. Kaneki's eyes widened when his opponent reappeared, right in front of him, and smashed his shield right into his chest. The force behind the blow sent Kaneki flying until he crashed into a sand dune.

Kaneki groaned as he stood back up, more angry then hurt. He was having a hard time catching his opponent thanks to that teleporting ability or whatever it was. The Shinigami reappeared right in front of him and attempted to stab him. Kaneki was just able to bring up his _**Kagune**_ up in time to block the blade.

The two of them, Kaneki and the Shinigami, tried to push each other back. After several moments, Kaneki noticed that the Shinigami was at arm's length. He tried to punch the man's head off, but the white shield blocked clawed fist.

The mask cocked it's head to one side as if the wearer was contemplating Kaneki.

"Nice try Hollow," the man said mockingly. "But way too weak."

"Shut the fuck up!" Kaneki snapped back. "Why the hell are you attacking me?"

The man scoffed in what sounded to be bemusement. "Either you're a Hollow greenhorn or you're really retarded. So I'll explain in simple terns: I'm a Shinigami and you're a Hollow. Shinigami kill Hollows off like the monsters that you are. Why I'm even explaining this to you when I am about to kill you doesn't make a whole lot of sense so lets just wrap things up here now."

Kaneki's eyes showed his surpressed anger. "I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to so final warning. Stop now."

He was ignored. Kaneki mentally sighed and resigned himself to having to fight.

' _He's incredibly strong. He can keep up with me in both strength and speed. Not only that, but he's obviously had more experience as a Shinigami than I have as a Hollow,'_ Kaneki thought grimly. _But, he cannot know about my life as a Ghoul. I need to stop thinking and use my instincts like I used to.'_

Kaneki's second tentacle stabbed into the ground behind him, acting as an anchor. Then he leaned back until his feet left the ground. Kaneki then moved his _**Kagune**_ forward with as much strength as he could muster. The organ propelled him forth, smashing both of his feet into the shield and breaking it like it was made of clay. Kaneki landed and punched the Shinigami's mask, cracking it.

The man was launched back, airborne for the briefest of moments before he landed on his feet. He skidded for a moment before coming to a stop. The man only had the chance to throw away his now useless shield before Kaneki was upon him.

Snarling, Kaneki began to rain blow after blow with his _**Kagune**_ , each strike dealt with as much strength as he could muster. Wielding his sword in two hands now, the Shinigami's blocks were firmer then before, but Kaneki was finding it easier to land hits on him. He hadn't yet, but he almost had several times. Twice more the Shinigami tried to land a sneak attack from behind with that teleporting ability, but Kaneki was able to sense him and bring his tentacles around to stop it.

The second time the Shinigami tried that trick, Kaneki jumped on his right hand and kicked his attacker back. The staggering man saw him coming and tried to bring up his sword in time, but his reflexes were clearly inferior to Kaneki's natural speed. A tentacle slammed right into the man's face, completely shattering it. Once the bone fragments had cleared, Kaneki was able to get a good look at the Shinigami's face: white skin that was as pale as the bone mask and red hair what was the colour of blood.

The stunned man wasn't able to do anything as Kaneki grabbed his shoulders with both hands and, acting on instinct, roared in his face.

Only a roar didn't emerge from the back of his throat. Instead a red ball of energy began to form in front of Kaneki's teeth. Kaneki, realising what it was, continued to charge it until it was as large as his head. The dazed Shinigami could only stare at the ball of death forming in front of his face.

Kaneki fired it, and the Shinigami was completely consumed by the first ever _**Cero**_ that he had ever created.

The former Ghoul kept the beam going for another six seconds until he was unable maintain it any longer and closed his mouth, bringing the red _**Cero**_ to an end. Once that was done, Kaneki observed what his attack had wrought on the landscape. Some of the ground was completely charred from the blast and a mixture of smoke and sand covered the space in front of him. Kaneki only had to wait a few moments before it cleared and he was able to see what had happened to the Shinigami.

He winced, it wasn't pretty.

The top half of the man's clothes had been completely vaporised from the blast. Most of the skin covering his chest and stomach was covered in rather severe burns that looked quite painful. However it was the man's head made Kaneki pause. Every single inch of it was covered by horrifying third degree burns. All of his hair was gone and his nose and eyes had been burnt away.

Definably stronger than the _**Ceros**_ that those five other Hollows had tried to use on him.

As Kaneki moved closer, he blinked in surprise when he saw the man's sword arm shift slightly. Still alive? It was hard to believe and yet still impressive that the Shinigami had survived. Still he couldn't leave him here otherwise he would die a slow painful death or be eaten by other Hollows. So Kaneki pierced the man's heart with his _**Kagune**_ , putting him out of his suffering.

Casting the corpse a final glance, Kaneki went to move off, but paused once an idea struck him. From what he had learnt, Hollows got stronger the more they ate and the Shinigami had been pretty strong.

Kaneki only hesitated for a moment before he made up his mind and began feasting on the Shinigami's body.

XXXXX

Having had his fill and feeling all the more stronger than before because of it, Kaneki headed towards the silver trees that he now knew were called the Forest of Menos thanks to the vague memories that he had gotten from the Shinigami he had eaten.

It would be a good place to stay as he trained to get used to his new abilities. While Kaneki wasn't sure what he would do after that, he didn't want to get eaten by another Hollow so getting stronger would be a good idea.

Also, he knew thanks to the Shinigami that thousands of Hollows roamed freely in the Forest of Menos. Most of them from what he could see weren't that strong at all, only a small few possessing enough power to pose a challenge to him. Unlike the Hollows, his latest meal had given him quite a boom in strength. He felt much stronger, hell he even felt more alive.

He loved it.

After almost an hour of walking, Kaneki came across what appeared to be an opening in a cliff side. Kaneki then proceeded to make his way through. After reaching the other side, he scanned the giant trees and quickly found one that suited his needs.

Scaling it using his _**Kagune**_ , Kaneki climbed until he was a good two hundred feet above the ground. Jumping onto a branch thick enough to support his weight. Positioned atop, he almost an entire day watching the ground, observing Hollows, mostly Gillians, pass by underneath. They hadn't made any moves towards him so Kaneki eventually decided to assume that they couldn't see him or were simply ignoring him.

Kaneki soon decided that it was safe enough to doze off, so he positioned his body as comfortably as he could and allowed himself to fall asleep, wondering what the future would hold for him.

Kaneki dreamed of Shinigami and Hollows.

XXXXX

 _Four years later._

XXXXX

In Las Noches, Sosuke Aizen's face expression never wavered, not in the slightest. Even as Ulquiorra delivered his report from the Forest of Menos.

"You are certain that is what he said?" Aizen asked, tapping the armrest of his throne.

Ulquiorra nodded from where he stood. Nearby, several other Arrancars that included Grimmjow and Harribel watched. The two Espada were present along with some of their follows, both Arrancars standing several metres apart.

"Yes Aizen-sama. The Guardian has continued his searches for the rogue Hollow, but has reported no success. Any Hollows that do come across it have ended up dead and consumed."

Aizen nodded as he contemplated this.

Just one year ago, there had been rumours of an extremely strong Hollow. Some said that it was an Adjuchas whereas some claimed it was actually a Vasto Lorde. The first time that these rumours had come across him, Aizen had simply dismissed them as such. However, by the fourth time that he had heard this, he had instantly summoned the Guardian of the Menos Forest to him for an explanation.

Once the Guardian that he had entrusted with watching over the forests was in this throne room, the Hollow had dropped to his knees and had confessed to initiating a cover up. Apparently, a new Hollow really had appeared in the Forest of Menos and had been killing and eating any living thing that it could get its hands on.

Normally this would have caused no concern whatsoever. Hollows were like that. However, this one was reported to have refused to bend to Aizen's will. On top of that, it was said to be strong enough to fight off the many groups of Hollows that had been sent after it.

This had led to the Guardian covering these incidents up as the stupid Hollow had apparently wanted to hunt down and kill this mystery Hollow himself. He was never given the chance as Aizen had killed him and appointed a replacement. The new Guardian, however, seemed it be having just as much luck finding this Hollow as his predecessor.

This Hollow sounded as though it would make a great Espada in Aizen's army, but first it needed to be located.

His decision made, Aizen addressed Ulquiorra.

"Ulquiorra, I would like you to go to the Forest of Menos with Yammy and find this stray. Offer it a position in the Espada. If words are not enough encouragement, then actions will make do as well."

Ulquiorra bowed his head, his emotionless facial expression not even twitching.

As the Cuarto Espada left the room, Aizen stood to leave as well. There was a Captain's meeting in an hour and it would look rather rude if he didn't attend.

XXXXX

Ken Kaneki looked over his latest kills with an expression resembling irritation. The smoke producing from the four bodies lying at his feet had all been victim of a single _**Cero**_. Normally, Kaneki would have eaten them to boost his power, but right now he was in the middle of something that was very important.

"How annoying. They were so weak that eating them just wouldn't have been worth the effort. What a waste of time."

He was trying to master the art of creating a Garganta. So that he could visit the human world and see his friends. It had also given him something else to do aside from getting stronger and dodging the gangs of Hollows that were sent to kill him.

Kaneki would never admit it, but it was very embarrassing that he had so much trouble learning the technique when he had first heard of it two years ago. Even the weakest Hollows could master it in weeks and he had been struggling, starting six months back when he had decided to try and learn it, using Touka-chan, Hinami and Hide's faces as his main inspiration.

The idea of being able to create a portal that led to the human world was very appealing to him, so despite setbacks, he had continued to work on it. He was understandably irritated that four weaklings had interrupted him when he had been so close to opening a Garganta.

With the Hollows dead, Kaneki set back to work whilst mulling over recent years.

Training relentlessly was the first thing that had come to mind. Whenever he wasn't sleeping or eating, he would train high up in the trees where most other Hollows couldn't reach him. The results were clear to see; his strength and reflexes had improved dramatically, his _**Kagune**_ was faster and his _**Ceros**_ were stronger, his senses had even improved. He also was quite good at hiding his Reiatsu as well.

Kaneki could confidentially say that there didn't exist a single Hollow in the Forest of Menos that could beat him in a one on one fight.

The results of his training had also helped him keep ahead of the large numbers of Hollows that were looking for him. Kaneki didn't know much, but he did know that the leader, some guy named the Guardian worked for someone called Aizen and that he could be found at Las Noches, though Kaneki rarely left the forest because he couldn't really be bothered to make the effort to try and find him and there was nothing that out there that really interested him.

If this Garganta thing worked then he wouldn't have to worry about being found. Using Gargantas would help him stay ahead of this Aizen person.

With that in mind, Kaneki continued his work.

XXXXX

Six hours later and Kaneki couldn't remember being his happy since he first became a Hollow.

He. Had. Done. It.

A large portal now lay open in front of him. A large grin slowly made its way across his mask, stretching his face until it hurt. If Hide had been in his position, Kaneki thought with amusement, he probably would have cheered whilst jumping up and down like a child.

Kaneki took a hesitant step forward. Then another until he was one foot away from entering the portal.

' _Just you wait guys, I'll be seeing you all very soon.'_

With that having be silently proclaimed, Kaneki walked inside with the Garganta closing behind him.

So excited Kaneki was that he forgot to reign in his Reiatsu.

XXXXX

Third Division Fifth Seat Gori Taketsuna was currently patrolling the city of Tokyo, on the lookout for Hollows. He had slain one just an hour ago that had been trying to eat a young Plus. The good deed reminded him of why he liked his job so much.

Hovering over the city, Gori yawned loudly before sneezing. Normally, he would try to present himself in a better manner, but since there wasn't anyone around the Shinigami couldn't be bothered in the slightest.

"Oh man, I hope that I get some time off after this. Though considering Kira-fukutaicho, lucks not gonna be on my side."

He was brought out of his musing when he felt what was without a doubt Hollow Reiatsu. Gori turned in the direction of origin and was surprised to see a Garganta opening in the sky, almost a kilometre from his position.

Gori was able to make his way over there, but literally froze when he felt how strong the Holllow was. The member of the Third Division reached for his Denreishinki whilst thinking franticly.

' _What the hell is a Hollow this strong doing in the human world? Its' spiritual pressure is on par with a Captain. My best chance is to call for backup and hold it off while so that reinforcements can arrive. Maybe I can even get this dumbass limiter removed.'_

XXXXX

Kaneki could barely contain his excitement by the time that the Garganta had opened. By the time that he had stepped out and saw Tokyo, he was actually rocking on his heels.

Tokyo didn't seem that different from before, though Kaneki supposed that it was obvious since he had never seen the city with whilst hanging in sky one thousand feet above ground level.

What to do now though?

First he would start with the university and see if he would get lucky with finding Touka-chan and Hide. After that he would go to Uta-san's stop and see if he was still working there.

The former Ghoul began descending at a rapid pace, thinking of all the places that he could look for his friends.

XXXXX

Gori grinned as the call ended. The Shinigami felt the limiter release as he pocketed the phone. Backup with be here in minutes. With his full strength, he could give this Hollow some trouble until they arrived.

Gori flew after the Hollow, drawing his Zanpakuto.

" **Sound with a Blow, Mogaribue!"**

XXXXX

Kaneki had dropped about a hundred feet when his senses kicked in and he picked up a sudden spike of Reiatsu. The former Ghoul spun to face the sky and was shocked to see a Shinigami above him with a large cleaver with holes in it.

Reacting instantly, Kaneki brought out both of his _**Kagune**_ and blocked the strike with a single tentacle. Snarling like a wolf, he brought his organ's vast strength to bear and sent the Shinigami flying back several metres.

Rather than attack however, Kaneki questioned the man as he stood back up.

"Why the hell are you attacking me!? I just want to see my-."

" _ **Hadō No. 32: Ōkasen!**_ "

Kaneki cursed and jumped out of the way of the horizontal arc of yellow energy that the Shinigami had generated from his sword.

' _No! Not now of all times. Not when I'm so close to seeing them again!"_ Kaneki thought despairingly as the Shinigami disappeared and reappeared behind him. _'I've waited years to see them, you won't stop me even if I have to kill you.'_

Kaneki grabbed the man's transformed sword with one hand and threw him to the side. Kaneki chased after him, preparing to finish him off. The Shinigami skidded to a halt and blocked Kaneki's kick with his sword. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaneki noticed that the man was staring at his _**Kagune**_ with something akin to confusion.

Kaneki shook off his observation and smashed one of his tentacles against the man's chest and was rewarded with blood erupting his mouth along with the sound of snapping ribs. The Shinigami was knocked away again, but this time Kaneki did not follow him.

He hung back and began charging a _**Cero**_.

XXXXX

Gori gasped as he felt several ribs break. Swatted away like a fly, he almost hit the top of a passing building, but at the last moment used the brick wall as a springboard to propel his body to the side.

Hovering closer to the city then before, Gori wiped away the blood from his mouth. The Shinigami groaned, he knew that he would be outmatched going in, but this was stupid! This Hollow was making him look like an idiot.

Gori held his cleaver in two hands as he prepared to use _**Shunpo**_ , but he hesitated when he saw the Hollow charging a familiar ball of energy.

Oh shit!

He prepared to move, but stopped and cursed when he realised that if he did so then the _**Cero**_ would hit the building behind him and probably kill several humans. Hoping that both he and Mogaribue were up for the job, Gori stayed where he was and prepared himself to try and stop it with his Zanpakuto.

The red _**Cero**_ struck Mogaribue with the force of a train. Gori struggled to withstand the energy attack, growling as it washed off his sword and onto his hands, scorching them. Eventually however, the attack won the battle and Gori was blasted back.

The Shinigami spun wildly as the blast tore at his clothes and singed his skin. Gori winced in pain when his head clipped against the side of a building. He managed to stop and was about to attack again when he felt three familiar Reiatsus. Excitement and relief coursing through him, Gori turned and saw his response team. Even from this far away, he easily recognised them.

Madarame Ikkaku, Third Seat of the Eleventh Division.

Abarai Renji, lieutenant of the Sixth Division.

Matsumoto Rangiku, lieutenant of the Tenth Division.

Gori grinned widely. The Shinigami turned to face the Hollow only to squint when he saw that the Hollow was gone.

He was then promptly cut down from behind.

XXXXX

Kaneki pulled his _**Kagune**_ out of the corpse and let it gravity pull it down to earth. The former Ghoul froze when he felt three Reiatsus approaching, each one feeling stronger than the one belonging to the Shinigami that he had just slain.

He casually cracked his index finger with his thumb.

Kaneki turned, saw the three Shinigami and cursed loudly. Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He was so close to getting to see everyone again! He wasn't backing out, not now!

The former Ghoul prepared himself for another battle. He froze, however, when he noticed something about one of the Shinigami.

' _Her!'_

The woman who had failed to save him. Now she was going to stop him from seeing his loved ones!

His anger now boiling, Kaneki opened his mouth and roared in the Shinigami's direction.

XXXXX

Rangiku sighed. "The human world is always changing."

Abarai Renji snorted in mock disbelief. That was rich coming from Rangiku of all people, considering how much time she spent shopping in the human world.

Renji frowned as he along with Ikkaku and Rangiku exited the Senkaimon without their limiters, the gate closing behind them as they stepped into the human world.

Ikkaku rubbed the top of his head, looking pumped at the prospect of a good fight. "Hey Renji, can ya sense Gori?"

Renji shrugged. "Dunno. I'll give it a try."

The redheaded Shinigami extended his senses as far as he could. He shook his head when he failed to pick detect Gori's Reiatsu, but his eyes snapped open when he felt a stronger source of energy that felt like a Hollow's

From Rangiku's expression, she had picked up on the same thing.

Focusing on it, Renji was able to pinpoint the point of origin. He _**Shunpoed**_ ahead, Ikkaku and Rangiku close behind.

The three of them arrived just in time to witness their comrade's demise. They all drew their blades.

Renji swore in fury as Gori's corpse began to fall. He had to restrain himself from charging forward and cutting off that fucking Hollow's head, only just managing to do so. His eyes slightly widened as he felt the full force of the monster's spiritual pressure.

Beside him, Rangiku was staring at the Hollow whilst frowning in confusion. "I've never seen a Hollow that looks so human like before in my life. Its' Reiatsu feels strange as well. Have you ever seen something like this Ikkaku?"

The bald Shinigami shook his head. "Nah, not that I can recall. Looks pretty fucking weird though."

He leaned over for a closer look and blinked in surprise. "Are those tentacles?"

"Be careful you guys its spotted us." Renji warned as the Hollow turned to face them. A moment later, the white haired Hollow roared in their direction, catching all three off guard when a sound wave struck them.

Covering his face with his arm, Renji shrugged off the attack. Turning his attention to the Hollow, Renji was shocked to see it almost upon them.

"Fighting a three on one battle ain't really my style at all ya know?" Ikkaku grumbled. "This sucks."

" _ **Howl, Zabimaru!"**_

" _ **Grow, Haineko!"**_

XXXXX

Kaneki aimed for the leader first. Charging a _**Cero**_ , he fired it. All three Shinigami scattered. The redhead was the nearest so Kaneki leapt at him. The former Ghoul's double _**Kagune**_ strike was blocked by the Shinigami's transformed blade. Kaneki's eyes showed his surprise when the sword's length extended into multiple segments as the Shinigami whipped the hilt down. He also noticed the woman's weapon turning to ash.

Kaneki frowned. Did their swords grant them extra abilities?

Jumping back, Kaneki heard a yell from above and was only just able to block the second male Shinigami's sword with one of his tentacles. Pushing the bald one away, Kaneki was just able to block the first one's extending weapon with his _**Kagune**_. He began to push back, but paused when he felt something tearing at his arm. Kaneki looked and was alarmed to see his bleeding left arm surrounded by ash. Silently cursing, Kaneki jumped back as the three Shinigami regrouped.

"You alright Renji?" the woman asked.

"I'm fine, but that asshole is strong," the one called Renji said in return.

The bald one then spoke, but towards Kaneki and not his comrades. "Hey Hollow, I'm Madarame Ikkaku", he pointed at himself proudly, "Third Seat of the Eleventh Division. What's your name?"

Kaneki was silent for several moments as he contemplated whether or not to even show that he had registered the Shinigami speaking. Finally, he decided to indulge the man's question.

"….Ken Kaneki…or Gantai."

Ikkaku raised his eyebrows. Besides him, Renji and Rangiku were visibly surprised that the Hollow had answered. "I guess that fits you well. Alright then let's get this battle started!"

With that having been said, Ikkaku charged whilst holding his sword strangely.

Kaneki frowned as he readied himself for another round.

" _ **Extend, Hōzukimaru!"**_

Kaneki ran forwards as Ikkaku, now armed with a staff with a bladed point, let out a battle cry. Kaneki's _**Kagune**_ smacked against the wooden stick, unable to break it much to his surprise. Ikkaku then moved back and struck at Kaneki several times. The former Ghoul's tentacles blocked each strike with ease. Leaning in, Kaneki struck Ikkaku with a punch that broke several teeth. Blood sprayed from the man's mouth. He then followed it up with a knee to the groin, causing the Shinigami to groan in pain.

"Now go away!"

Both of Kaneki's tentacles caught both sections of the stick at different angles. Ikkaku, having caught onto what he was trying to do, tried to pull his weapon free. Both organs pulled at different angles and snapped the transformed sword in two. A single blow from Kaneki's _**Kagune**_ sent Ikkaku flying away in a spray of blood.

Kaneki didn't spare the bald one a second glance. He turned to locate the other two, but…..

He gasped when his arms along with his tentacles snapped down against his side, unable to move.

"What the…?" Kaneki looked down and saw Renji's transformed sword wrapped securely around his body. Kaneki tried to break the blade, but was unable to find enough space to move properly. "When?"

"You weren't paying attention." Renji snorted, his right hand gripping his weapon's hilt. "Rangiku, do it now!"

Kaneki's eyes widened in fear as he saw the woman's ash descend upon him. No matter what the former Ghoul did, he could only watch in muted horror as the dust cloud settled around him and he began to feel as though thousands of fingernail sized insects were chewing away at his flesh.

He desperately struggled to get free as the pain got even worse. Out of the corner of his eye, Kaneki saw his skin was slowly disappearing and being replaced with wet crimson. He tried to run out of the cloud of death, but the sword wrapped around him was like a dog lease.

Desperately, Kaneki began charging energy in his mouth as fast as possible. Without giving it time to fully charge, Kaneki aimed it at Renji who was standing a mere ten feet away. At the same time, he felt something push against his skin from the inside. It struggled for a moment before succeeding and emerged from his back.

" _ **Cero!**_ "

The long ranged attack blasted through the ash and struck Renji, knocking him away. Kaneki felt the sword's hold loosen and he easily pulled himself free and instantly moved out of the dust cloud. He spotted the woman moving the cloud after him, but he continued to stay out of the ash's path.

Kaneki fired another _**Cero**_ , forcing Rangiku to dodge or be blasted away. Looking over his shoulder, Kaneki's felt surprise course through him as he beheld two new _**Kagune**_ that matched his first two perfectly, bringing them to a total of four.

Kaneki suddenly stopped, feeling as though he had been punched in the stomach. Looking down he was beheld with the sight of Ikkaku stabbing the bladed half of his staff into his body.

Pain lanced through his muscles as Kaneki shifted, causing him to groan in pain while the Shinigami grinned wildly.

"Hey Gantai can you still keep up?"

Kaneki responded with a head-butt. Ikkaku's head snapped back, blood spraying from his broken nose. Kaneki's next blow was aimed at the man's throat, but the Shinigami blocked the blow with the remaining half of his staff.

Even despite the blood streaming down his face, Ikkaku smirked. Feeling his anger and frustration reach new levels, Kaneki's four _**Kagune**_ reared back and struck the Shinigami's body mercilessly with full force at the exact same time. Kaneki felt several ribs cave under the force of his blow as Ikkaku coughed up a mouthful of blood. The force behind the blow sent the now motionless Shinigami down forwards the ground below.

Kaneki jumped back as the flesh consuming ash choose this moment to make its attack again. As the former Ghoul continued to retreat, he ripped the staff from his gut and threw the blood soaked stick away, inwardly grimacing.

He hurt all over. He wouldn't admit this, but he was beginning to feel fear and doubt course through him. If it had been two high levelled Shinigami instead of three he probably would have won this already. Their teamwork was good and the techniques that their swords granted them were hard to counter at the same time. If this kept up, he would die or be forced to retreat back to Hueco Mundo.

Kaneki frowned in confusion when he noticed that the ash was disappearing. By the time that it was completely gone, Kaneki noticed the female Shinigami standing close by with her sword in its' original form before she disappeared and reappeared behind him. He turned to face her.

" _ **Bakudō No. 4: Hainawa**_."

The former Ghoul moved a few feet to the left, narrowly avoiding the rope of yellow energy that the Shinigami cast from her hands. However, the Kido spell wrapped itself around one of his tentacles, halting him.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaneki saw that the Shinigami named Renji was back up and was heading towards them. He quickly fired a _**Cero**_ at the rope, severing it. He turned and brought up all four of his _**Kagune**_ to block the sharp segments of Renji's weapon. Breathing heavily, Kaneki shoved Renji away and struck out with a tentacle.

The Shinigami tried to block it, but the force behind the blow broke the weapon into multiple separate pieces. Kaneki, seeing his chance, instantly went in for the kill.

Renji, now only clutching a useless hilt, smirked. " _ **Higa Zekkō**_!"

The broken segments, floating aimlessly, suddenly moved as though they had a will of their own. They began to spin and twist, whirling as they ascended until they were spinning above Kaneki's head. Renji swung his hilt and the broken pieces followed his movement, stabbing down on top of Kaneki.

The former Ghoul could only cry out as the segments stabbed into him. One punctured his shoulder, two more stabbed his right arm and another pierced his stomach whereas the last two hit him in the back. Kaneki tried to move, but the pain was bad enough that he could barely move.

Rangiku moved to cut him down, but Kaneki was able to summon the strength the fire a _**Cero**_. The attack was blocked by her sword, but it created an explosion that hid Kaneki from the eyes of both Shinigami. Despite the agony it caused him, Kaneki began painfully extracting the segments from his body one by one as fast as he could.

The process was painful, but Kaneki was anything, but a stranger to pain. He could hear the Shinigami shouting, but he paid them no attention. He removed the last one from his back and quickly opened a Garganta.

Kaneki limped through as the portal closed behind him.

XXXXX

It had been three days since he had returned to the Forest of Menos and all Kaneki had done since then was destroy everything that he could get his hands on whether they were a Hollow or a piece of the surrounding forest. His injuries had long since completely healed, leaving him as good as new, but that hadn't helped quill his rage. Rather, it encouraged it instead as it had given him more targets to take his temper out on.

Kaneki currently sat on a pile of slain Hollows that he had ambushed and slaughtered without mercy, his fury akin to a storm in his mind.

How dare those Shinigami stop him?! What give them the right to prevent him from seeing his friends? He had worked tirelessly to master the Garganta so he could see them, refusing to give up even when it looked as though it was useless. And finally when he had gotten a chance, the Shinigami had gone ahead and stolen it from him.

He would kill every single one of them for this.

Kaneki was brought out of his musings when he sensed two Reiatsu signatures approaching. They felt distinctively Hollow-like, although there was something off about them. Kaneki couldn't put it in words, but the foreign signatures put him on guard. One was quite strong, but noticeably weaker than his own. The other one's power caused Kaneki to hesitate; it was easily the most strongest that he had ever felt in his Hollowed life which was cause for very great concern. It felt somewhat muted, but still felt stronger then Kaneki's own Reiatsu.

Despite this, Kaneki stood and went off to confront them. Or at least check to see if they were enemies.

XXXXX

It was night time in the human world.

The Hollow known as Sinkline and his two fellows Gorgon and Jester were in the middle of running for their lives. The three of them were used to being the predators ever since their existence as Hollows began.

They never imagined that a single Shinigami would turn the tables on them whilst on a trip to the world of the living. Four others had already been killed, cut down by the grey haired monster that wore the face of a Shinigami. The monster that hunted them in the night

The monster wouldn't even let them leave. Even when it was obvious that they were only trying to retreat, it had followed after them and killed any Hollow that attempted to create a Garganta. Behind them, the monster giggled loudly as though it was having the time of its life.

"You think that you filthy Hollows can escape me? How every foolish and childish," the monster spoke as if lecturing a child.

Sinkline did his best to ignore the fear coursing his him, concentrating only on running. They could lose the Shinigami at the docks and head back to Hueco Mundo from there. He swerved in the direction that would lead him to the water and the two others followed close behind.

The three Hollows ran across the skies, refusing to look back, even as the monster continued to belittle them with taunts. Sinkline though he might be wrong, but he could swear that the Shinigami was deliberately allowing them to say ahead, almost as if it was teasing them.

When the docks were finally in their sights, Sinker sighed in relief. With all of the abandoned ships and warehouses scattering the area, escaping would be eas-.

The Shinigami from Hell appeared right in front of them. With the moonlight shining directly in its' face it looked even more horrifying. The sadistic smirk, the delight dancing in its' eyes, the high pitched giggling, it all was more than enough to make the normally calm and collected Sinkline panic.

He felt a brief burst of Reiatsu for a mere moment before something heavy smashed into him. The force behind the hit knocked Sinkline down. From the cries that he could hear, he could only assume that Gorgon and Jester had been struck as well.

Sinkline smashed into the ground with a cry of pain as he felt the concrete underneath him shatter. Groaning feebly, he turned in time to see Gorgon and Jester crash down next to him as well.

The monster landed on its' two feet right in front of them. All three Hollows froze.

"Seeing Hollows copying the emotions of a human quite frankly disgusts me. Have you come to realise that yet?"

It pulled out its' Zanpakuto, the blade just as menacing as its' wielder.

"I think that not letting my feelings be known isn't very noble."

It stepped closer, a sick grin still plastered on its' face.

"So please stay still and let me show you how I feel when I see you monsters trying to get away with impersonating humans."

An insane glint entered the monster's eyes.

" _ **Plague, Kuroji."**_

The Shinigami started laughing and continued to do so as the Hollows began screaming.

Even after the screams finally stopped, the laugher did not.

 **XXXXX**

 **Translations:**

 **Kuroji: Black Figure.**

 **By the way, as you can see, Kaneki has gotton stronger since he was able to fight three lieutenant level Shinigami at the same time**

 **Don't worry, Ikkaku isn't dead.**

 **Tell me what you all think and see you all next time.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **.**

 **Yes that was Mado. I'll tell you a little about his** **Zanpakuto if you want: It is NOT a nice sword in the slightest and it's abilites are horrifying, even worse then Urahara's Bankai**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi there everyone. Here is the third chapter of my story and I hope you all enjoy it. Thank you to all who have made the effort to write what they think about my story. Again, message me if you want to talk about my story.**

 **I don't own Bleach or Tokyo Ghoul.**

 **XXXXX**

As Kaneki jumped from tree to tree, he pondered over the identities of the two unknown signatures that had entered the territory he had claimed for himself.

Kaneki briefly considered the Guardian was up to this, but immediately dismissed such a thing for several reasons. He doubted that the arrogant Hollow would have agreed to working with people stronger then him and would have sticked his gangs on them like he had with Kaneki. The former Ghoul also had a hard time believing that the Guardian would have managed to enlist such powerful Hollows considering his overconfident attitude. Kaneki wasn't even sure if they were Hollows, their weird signatures were unlike anything he had ever felt before.

Although, there was that one time, except that these ones were much stronger than the girl that he had met back then.

The former Ghoul began jumping to lower branches, his speed bringing him to less than a hundred feet from the intruders. He briefly thought bringing out his _**Kagune**_ , but decided not to. Hollows were always surprised when they saw them for the first time so they could be a trump card if he kept them hidden until the right moment. He still had _**Cero**_ as well as his claws and talons.

Seeing a clearing that was devoid of trees up ahead, Kaneki began to slow. He also noted that the signatures had halted. Chances were that they had sensed him already.

Kaneki burst from the trees and landed on the sand on both feet smoothly. He got his first look at the two intruders and blinked in shock, his mind racing in confusion.

Two Hollows stood in front of him, the larger one standing in front. Kaneki wasn't surprised by their humanoid appearances or that they were wearing clothes. What had him questioning his vision was the fact that they physically appeared to be humans….humans that looked as though they had gone through mild mutations, but humans nevertheless. One was staring at him intently while the other was just looking him over in a matter that was similar to how a bully would a potential victim.

Almost how Yamori would have.

The tall one was almost a whopping eight feet with possessed a strong build. Kaneki noticed that he was wearing what looked like a fragment from a Hollow mask that wrapped around his chin. He was also bald, but had a ponytail despite this. Kaneki noted with shock that the small giant had a Hollow hole located on his chest.

The second one was roughly Kaneki's own height, but felt far more dangerous than the larger one. He also wore a bone helmet that Kaneki suspected had once been a Hollow mask. Asides from the snow white skin, black hair and emerald eyes, the only other feature that Kaneki took note of was the strange tattoo marks that ran from the man's eyes like tear drops. Kaneki couldn't see if he had a hole as well because the man's shirt covered his upper chest, unlike the dumb looking one.

' _What on earth are they?'_ Kaneki thought frantically, trying to make sense of that they were. They felt like Hollows, but looked like humans with broken masks.

The smaller of the two began to step forward, but Kaneki growled in warning. The advancer stopped.

The movement caused something at the man's waist to shine. Kaneki turned his attention to it and froze at the sight of a sword. He looked at the big one and saw another blade strapped to his side as well.

' _Shinigami swords! How do they wield those weapons if they truly are Hollows?'_

Before this, Kaneki had only encountered one that had been remotely similar to these two. That one, while appearing to be a human with a Hollow mask and Hollow Reiatsu, hadn't had a sword as far as Kaneki had seen, but these two somehow did.

Now that he thought about it, their power was obviously that of a Hollow's, but it also felt slightly like that of a Shinigami's as well. This revelation only added to the growing list of questions that Kaneki had.

Finally the one that had tried to step forward spoke. Kaneki felt as though ice was being poured over his back, like emptiness itself was engulfing him.

"Are you the one that the Guardian has been trying to hunt down these past few months?"

Behind his mask, Kaneki frowned. Had he been wrong about their lack of association with the Guardian. Part of him was tempted to deny their question or not even answer it. After a moment of consideration, he answered truthfully.

"I am. What of it?"

"Our master, Aizen-sama, wishes for you to become a part of his army. He has extended an invitation for you, although if you refuse we will use force to make you comply," the Hollow-Shinigami said coldly.

Most people properly would have been intimidated by the man's tone, but Kaneki was far from most people. The chill in his voice rose to match the green-eyed man as the former Ghoul recalled the name.

"You mean the one that the Guardian works for? Your Aizen should know by now if he has heard any truth from the Guardian that I don't hold interest in anything outside this forest." That was a lie, but Kaneki pushed that thought aside.

"Probably because you're a complete weakling," the giant scoffed loudly, cracking his knuckles. "Hey Ulquiorra can I squash this bug?"

"Silence Yammy," Ulquiorra snapped. He turned his attention back to Kaneki.

"You're preferences are of no concern to Aizen-sama. You will come with us now."

Kaneki felt anger bubbling up like acid inside of him. It didn't show on his face, but his Reiatsu must have as both Ulquiorra and Yammy stiffened sightly as the full force of his power hit them, the former showing no reaction while the latter just grinned stupidly.

Kaneki slowly began to push his _**Kagune**_ to the surface. Normally, he was more composed than this, but his failed outing to the human world still had him in a very bad mood.

" _That_ ", he snarled hotly, "is not happening." With that having been said, he slipped into the battle stance Yomo had taught him.

Ulquiorra frowned and gestured to Yammy, who snorted gleefully and rushed forward, his fist raised back.

Kaneki wasn't worried. Yammy was obviously stronger than those Shinigami, but he fell short of the former Ghoul. He waited until the last moment possible to move. Shifting left with a few inches to spare, Kaneki slashed the giant's arm, cutting deep enough to almost reach bone.

Kaneki was surprised to feel some sort of resistance, but his claws still cut through whatever it was easily. As Yammy shouted angrily, Kaneki jumped back several metres and began charging a _**Cero**_.

Yammy noticed and began charging one from his mouth as well. However, Kaneki's was almost ready by then. His was fired first with the brute's following a moment later. They collided in mid-air, both _**Ceros**_ struggling briefly before Kaneki's broke through and struck the giant in the chest.

As smoke evoked Yammy, Kaneki took this chance to move. He noticed that Ulquiorra had retreated and was watching the fight from the other side of the clearing, but he paid him no mind as the pale man obviously didn't intend to join the fray yet.

Circling the smoke, Kaneki dodged a fist that had probably been thrown at random. He increased his pace as the smoke vanished, revealing Yammy burnt and bleeding, but very much still alive. Finding himself facing his back, Kaneki took this chance to leap over Yammy's head, aiming his taloned feet for his head.

Yammy looked up and roared. "You piece of shit! I'll fucking kill you!"

He threw a punch that was engulfed in red. Kaneki was caught off guard by the attack's speed. It hit him and knocked him away. He landed safely, more surprised than hurt. That attack wasn't a _**Cero**_ , but it was fast enough to catch him off guard. Kaneki took a second to feel his slightly stinging shoulder.

"Take this you pipsqueak!"

Even without Yammy's exclamation, Kaneki found dodging the following attacks easy, ducking and weaving out of the path of each projectile that the giant sent at him. He waited for a moment after avoiding the last before jumping and blasting his opponent with another _**Cero**_.

Kaneki wasn't ashamed to admit that he was far from the strongest Hollow in terms of physical strength, not when he had his _**Kagune**_ , but now he doubted that he would even have to use it at this rate.

Dodging Yammy and ducking under a following fist, the former Ghoul moved inside his opponent's guard and brought his fist against Yammy's left knee using all the strength he could muster. Kaneki felt bone break under his fist and was rewarded with the giant making even more noise.

Kaneki then jumped and spun, driving his foot into the side of Yammy's face. The kick knocked Yammy over onto his back where he laying groaning softly.

In the corner, Ulquiorra didn't even blink.

Kaneki perceived the emotionless man for a moment before making a show of walking forward with an arm raised as though he intended to end Yammy's life.

As expected, Ulquiorra disappeared and reappeared behind him. Kaneki instantly brought out two of his _**Kagune**_ , the two black organs blocked Ulquiorra's arm with ease. Kaneki then brought out his other two, intending to skewer his attacker through the face.

His _**Kagune**_ only hit empty air.

Whirling in surprise, Kaneki jumped back as Ulquiorra reappeared several feet in front of him. Kaneki sent his _**Kagune**_ to attack Ulquiorra, sending one after the other to strike him from different angles.

Ulquiorra dodged them all calmly. He then moved in front of Kaneki before he could react and drove his fist into his stomach. Blood left Kaneki's mouth as he flew back, landing on the ground nearby in a heap.

Kaneki ignored his aching stomach as he stood, wheezing as Ulquiorra stood silently. Kaneki quickly began charging a _**Cero**_ from his mouth.

His opponent watched for a second before snorting.

To Kaneki's shock, a bright, green _**Cero**_ appeared at the edge of Ulquiorra's index finger, growing to full size and firing before Kaneki's, despite his having begun charging first. They both hit each other, red against green. The two attacks were evenly matched for several seconds before Ulquiorra's overwhelmed Kaneki's. The former Ghoul cursed, just managing to jump out of the way.

' _This isn't going well at all'_ , he thought irritably.

Kaneki then took to the offensive and attacked with his tentacles, each attack being thrown with as much strength and speed as he could drag up. Ulquiorra simply raised his arms across his own face as the predatory organs descended. Ulquiorra's forearms blocked them all, but the force sent him skidding back several feet.

Refusing to let up, Kaneki continued to attack, smashing his _**Kagune**_ against Ulquiorra's moving arms. His tentacles continued to press the attack, forcing Ulquiorra to begin taking steps back. Encouraged by this despite how hard his opponent's arms were, Kaneki continued to attack with renewed determination. His _**Kagune**_ danced like snakes striking prey eager for blood and blood was what Kaneki would grant them.

Soon, Kaneki had Ulquiorra at edge of the clearing. The pale man's lower sleeves were ripped and his forearms and wrists were bruised, but he was showing no signs of pain or tiredness whatsoever. Kaneki was breathing heavily, but was refusing to slow, pushing his tentacles even faster. At that point, one got past Ulquiorra's guard and struck his face hard enough to draw blood.

Ulquiorra's arms faltered for a moment. Two other tentacles struck his stomach, lifting him off his feet and sending him flying into the forest, knocking down several trees as he disappeared from view. Kaneki eagerly took off after him.

After running for just a few seconds, Kaneki caught up with Ulquiorra who was standing there with his hands in his pockets as if he was bored.

Kaneki's eyes squinted as he stopped. He wasn't sure why, but Ulquiorra's gaze was beginning to get really unnerving. Most Ghouls that he had met didn't even come close in the intimidation department, including Rize and Yamori. Kaneki mentally shook his head.

Screw this. He was running out of patience.

The former Ghoul broke his brief staring contest and jumped high into the air, his tentacles striking down at his opponent.

Ulquiorra's hand dropped to the handle at his waist. He raised his arm, bringing his sword halfway out of it's sheath. The curved, unmarked blade blocked all four of Kaneki's attack organs at the exact same time.

Kaneki gasped.

Ulquiorra eyed him before he moved so fast that Kaneki couldn't even track him. One moment Ulquiorra had been standing there and the next he was by Kaneki's side, blood dripping from the sword's tip.

Kaneki's all four _**Kagune**_ dropped to the ground, flopping around weakly like worms, having been completely severed.

Unable to take in what he was seeing, Kaneki slowly turned to look at Ulquiorra, but the pale man's face was calmly looking over the former Ghoul's shoulder.

"Useless."

Kaneki tried to move, but found a small ball of condensed energy forming right in front of his face. There was a flash of green light and he knew no more.

XXXXX

Renji and Rangiku both left the First Division's barracks, having just given their own accounts of the incident to the Soutaichou. There had been a written account in addition to that, something that Ikkaku would have absolutely hated Renji thought as he and his fellow lieutenant went to check on their comrade, their postures slumped slightly in defeat.

Knowing Ikkaku however, he probably would have chosen his current predicament over paperwork any day.

The rest of the trip was made in complete silence.

As Renji reached the Fourth Division, he grabbed a passing medic and asked her for Ikkaku's room number. Though obviously off put by his rudeness, she gave it to them.

As they made their way through the corridor and around any passing Shinigami, Renji decided to _try_ and break the silence with small talk.

"How are you handling things?"

Rangiku looked at him and sighed. "I've been better honestly. I want a drink, but it somehow feels wrong at the moment. So yeah, not very well."

The redheaded lieutenant of the Sixth Division nodded in understanding. He crossed his arms across his chest. "Same here. Think I'll go sparring later."

The good feeling that had been swelling up in his chest at the idea quickly died down at the realisation that he wouldn't be able to do so with his usual partner.

"There's more to life than sparring in your spare time Renji."

He scoffed. "I could say the same thing about you when it comes to bars Rangiku-san."

Their small banter continued as they made their way around the place. They quickly arrived at Ikkaku's room, stopping in their tracks when Unohana stepped out of the room. The captain of the Fourth smiled when she noticed them.

"Oh Abarai-fukutaichou, Matsumoto-fukutaichou, I hope your both recovering well?"

Rangiku nodded politely. "Very well Taichou thank you." Unohana smiled and nodded in return.

Renji didn't bother with greetings and went straight down to why they were there. "Taichou, we were both wondering if there has been an update in Ikkaku's condition. Has there been any improvement?"

Unohana shook her head sadly. "No, unfortunately. His situation is stable, but his injuries are severe. His shattered ribs sent bone fragments into his body, several puncturing his lungs. We've managed to extract all of them, but it will be a while before he's able to breathe properly again. On top of that, considering that his skull was fractured in the fall as well as taking into account all of the blood that he lost by the time that you both got back, it's a miracle that he was still alive when you got here. Despite this, he will recover and it's thanks to you for getting him back to me so quickly."

"Is he allowed visitors at the moment?"

Unohana shook her head. "I'm afraid not for at least several more days."

Renji nodded respectfully. "Understood, thank you for your time."

Both he and Rangiku made to leave, but Unohana's voice called after them.

"One more thing."

Renji turned back. "Mmmm?"

"Could you please describe the Hollow that did this?"

Renji frowned and shrugged as he thought it over. "Dunno really. Human sized with white hair. Had a weird mask and a single red eye. There were these four black tentacles sticking out from it's back as well. Why?"

Unohana's facial expression was neutral, as if she was thinking over something important. Eventually she asked "did you include this in your report as well?"

Renji was getting confused by now and by the looks of it so was Rangiku. "Yeah?"

"Unohana-taichou, is something wrong?" Rangiku asked.

The captain of the Fourth Division spoke. "Tell me something. What do you know about Ghouls?"

Renji frowned as he struggled to recount what he knew off the top of his head. "Ghouls are essentially what humans in the living world have to contend with like where we have Hollows instead. They can't eat normally so they prey on humans and each other."

Rangiku added her own memory to the discussion. "They are of a minor interest to the Shinigami Research and Development Institute due to the fact that is mostly unknown what happens to them after death although a very part percentage of them are dragged down into Hell due to their eating habits."

Unohana nodded "Correct. If by some chance a Soul Burial is successful and the Ghoul is not condemned for it's crimes, then it will be sent to Soul Society like any other human. What's interesting is that there has never been a single sighting of a Ghoul appearing in the Rukongai. There has been investigations into this for centuries, but no solid answers have ever been found."

"What about Hollowification?" Renji asked.

"There hasn't been a single report of a Ghoul becoming a Hollow. There have been no sightings of a Hollow displaying characteristics of that would set aside as a former Ghoul. Though not any more I suspect if my suspicions are correct."

Realisation dawned on the Sixth Division member's face as he caught on. Rangiku also had a similar facial expression on her own.

A Hollow that had used to be a Ghoul? Was that even possible?

"Please excuse me. If I'm right the Soutaichou will be calling a Captain's meeting soon."

XXXXX

Third Division Captain Ichimaru Gin wasn't ashamed to admit to himself that he was bored as hell. The paperwork he had been filling out lately had been even thicker than usually, thanks to the death of his fifth seat.

He supposed that out of principal he should feel some remorse, but he didn't really. Gin had hadn't liked him at all and had been considering asking Gori to transfer to a different division. At least his vice-captain was tolerable.

His third seat on the other hand was one of the most interesting/amusing Shinigami that Gin had ever had in his division. His seemingly natural hatred for Hollows as well as the enjoyment he seemed to make out of tormenting others made Gin by comparison seen almost normal.

Almost.

Huh, speak of the devil.

Gin didn't get up from his desk to greet the newcomer, but a waved a lazy hand in greeting. "Why hello Mado-san."

Third Division Third Seat Mado Kureo's grin would have sent most children running for a hiding place.

"Oh Gin-kun, I've missed your lack of respect for rules and complete rejection for anything approaching common decency."

Gin just snickered. The slouched old man spoke like this to everyone, excluding the other Old Man that is.

"My, my, what a response Mado-san. I imagine that your trip to the human world was no trouble?"

Gin inwardly knew that Mado was strong, even stronger than Kira. Well of course he was stronger considering that he had just unlocked his _**Bankai**_ a mere month ago and had just recently taken the Captain's Proficiently Test.

The current Captain of the Third had no illusions over who would replace him once he had defected with Aizen. Mado would be able to control the division, probably out of fear, but Gin didn't care about that.

"Any Hollows that I found in the human world were complete disappointments. Using my _**Shikai**_ was overkill."

"If ya're bored well ya in luck cause I just got the news that Gori was killed during a mission to the human word. Here's the reports from both Rangiku and Renji."

Gin threw the file at Mado who caught it with one hand.

The silver haired man sat back in his chair and relaxed as Mado read over the pages. Slowly, the creases and lines on Mado's disappeared as a smirk/snarl of delight covered his face, the fearsome expression looking as though it had come from a Hollow instead of a Shinigami.

"How interesting," Mado muttered, "how very, very interesting."

Mado left the room with the file like it was his life line, leaving Gin alone.

Gin snorted in amusement. He was about to get back to his work, but froze when a Hell Butterfly flew through the window. He extended a finger and raised an eyebrow when it landed.

A Captain's meeting? How interesting.

XXXXX

Shinohara Yukinori, Third Seat of the Seventh Division couldn't remember the last time that he had cut this loose. Especially against his own captain in a sparring match.

A single strike from Komamura's blade was enough to send Shinohara sliding across the floor on his feet. Stabbing Sherukurasshā into the ground brought the Shinigami to a halt. His captain didn't give him any time to recover and was almost instantly upon him. Shinohara was only just able to bring up his Zanpakuto in time to block Komamura's.

Once graduating the academy, Shinohara hadn't been sure concerning which division that he would be joining. Mado had already been given an offer from the Third and had accepted. Shinohara had also gotten an invite from the Eleventh and the Tenth, but he had also gotten one from Komamura as well. He'd spent a week thinking it over before deciding on the Seventh since he was good friends with Iba and held Komamura in very high regard.

"Not bad Yukinori, but you can do much better."

Shinohara completely agreed.

Pushing his captain back, he charged after him and exchanged blades once more. After several seconds, Shinohara ducked underneath a blow and delivered the strongest kick he could cough up to Komamura's chest. The armoured captain stumbled back several feet, but recovered quickly.

He wasn't up there in the physical strength department with his captain and Eleventh Division captain, but Shinohara believed that he did well enough. There were only a handful of seated officers who could match him equally. Shinohara knew this since he had sparred with all of them.

The Seventh Division member unleased more blows against Komamura, who blocking them with his Zanpakuto using only one hand. Jumping out of the reach of his captain's counter, Shinohara jumped over a sweeping kick and halted when Komamura grabbed Sherukurasshā with a single hand. He threw Shinohara back who just managed to land on his feet when he landed. Holding his weapon over his head, Shinohara began spinning it like a rotor.

" _ **Divide Equally, Sherukurasshā!"**_

His Zanpakuto melted away, leaving only the handle remaining. The boiling liquid dribbled down Shinohara's body harmlessly, slowly covering every inch of his body except for his face and feet. The bubbling metal then hardened instantly, leaving behind a heavily plated suit of shining black armour. At the same time, Sherukurasshā's hilt sprouted a massive cleaver like blade that reached almost six feet in length, the colour matching Shinohara's armour.

Feeling his aches and cramps disappearing and being replaced with powerful strength and speed, Shinohara's confidence in his combat abilities went up several inches. He made to attack, but stopped when a Hell Butterfly landed on Komomura's shoulder.

Now of all times?

XXXXX

Tenth Division Captain Hitsugaya Toshiro frowned as Komomura, Ichimaru and Kenpachi were the last to arrive and get in line with the others. Yamamoto grunted, but said nothing. There was silence for several moments before the Old Man began the meeting by speaking.

"Recently, there was an incident in the world of the living. Gori Taketsuna, Fifth Seat of the Third Division, encountered an unknown Hollow that was wandering around above the city of Tokyo. Because of it's unique appearance and powerful signature, Fifth Seat Gori called for backup and requested that his limiter be removed before moving on to engage the Hollow. By the time that reinforcements arrived, Gori had been killed and the reinforcements were attacked by Gori's murderer. After engaging our soldiers, the Hollow retreated back to Hueco Mundo due to it's injuries."

"How strong was it?" Kenpachi asked, grinning.

"I read the report. It was strong enough to fight three lieutenant level Shinigami without their limiters for an extended period of time." Unohana offered. She looked at him sternly. "Shouldn't you have an idea already considering that that it's one of your seated officers that's being looked after in my division?"

Kenpachi looked away and shrugged. "Just asking."

Hitsugaya added his own question to the mix. "Do we have any idea why it was even there to begin with?"

Ichimaru rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, grinning. "Gori mighta, but I'm fraid that the knowledge died with him. Shame he didn't add anything else beforehand."

Hitsugaya glared at the Third Division captain for his blatant disrespect, but said nothing.

"What was "unique" about the Hollow's appearance?" Sosuke inquired.

"It, while clearly a Hollow, shared some physical attributes with a Ghoul, including a set of _**Kagune**_. This has therefore lead to the conclusion that this Hollow was never once in it's life a human." Yamamoto stated.

This caught the attention of most of the captains. Several quiet mutters questioned how reliable the source was or how such a thing was even possible. The excitement in Mayuri's eyes was as clear as day to even Tousen.

"Mmmmm, such a thing should not be possible, considering all of our research. A current venture to the world of the living might help gain a better understanding," muttered Mayuri whilst rubbing his chin, speaking more to himself rather than his fellow captains. "The ramifications of what could be learnt from this are endless. The subject should be captured alive for research purposes."

Komomura however, was quick to interject on the Twelfth captain's opinion.

"The safety of our Shinigami must take priority. Simply killing this Hollow is the most logical solution."

Hitsugaya was willing to agree with the Seventh Division captain on this, but before he could speak he was interrupted by the Eleventh Division captain.

"Bullshit! Not before I get a piece of it. I call bagging rights." Kenpachi claimed loudly.

"Is fighting all you-"

"Enough!"

The three captains instantly quietened at the sound of their leader's voice. The Soutaichou's spiritual pressure lowered back to normal and he closed his eyes in thought. The other captains watched him in silence. Yamamoto eventually opened his eyes and spoke.

"Such an anomaly, if it truly is a Ghoul, is a breakthrough concerning the mysteries surrounding them. Especially considering the lack of knowledge we have concerning their respective afterlives. A Hollowified Ghoul may threaten the balance, if this one is only the first of many to come. More must be understood before any action is taken, whether to capture or to kill. I therefore authorise a team to be sent to the location where the encounter took place to see if any information can be gained."

Nobody spoke, even those who disagreed.

"Dismissed!"

XXXXX

As soon as the meeting was over, Aizen quickly made his leave. By now, Ulquiorra and Yammy would have returned if they had succeeded considering that he gave them his orders several days ago. If so then the Hollow still needed to be turned properly.

The Hollow-Ghoul situation held no interest with him, so it was already at the back of his mind. The potential Espada candidate on the other hand did. Aizen decided to return to Hueco Mundo as soon as possible.

Little did he know how related the two topics were.

XXXXX

When Kaneki finally woke up, he realised that his arms and legs were restrained by some sort of manacles. Groaning softly, he slowly tested his fingers and toes as feeling returned to them. He frowned when he noticed that they felt distinctively different from before, like back when he had first Hollowified.

In the back of his mind, Kaneki tensed when he felt Rize's presence, more pronounced than before.

He had been able to hear her every now and then over the past few years, speaking to him when he ate or teasing him, though he never responded to her. Rize, he didn't know how else to describe it, felt stronger than before, like her will had undergone some sort of transformation.

He opened his eyes and noticed that he was in some sort of room. It was white and completely bare, except for his bed and a small hole in the wall that Kaneki guessed was actually a window. He tried to look down to see his body, but discovered that a metal collar was wrapped around his neck which was attached to the bed.

"Oh, you're finally awake?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaneki spotted a young woman step into his field of vision. His eyes instantly went to her rather odd choice of clothing, noting the white frilly dress and the puffed sleeves. His eyes wandered up and saw her face, blinking when he saw her purple hair and her matching teardrop marks on each cheek. The bone fragment nesting in her hair instantly put the former Ghoul on edge.

"Where am I?" Kaneki demanded. He didn't allow it to show, but panic was beginning to swell up inside of him, having vivid memories of the last time he had been restrained and at another's mercy flashing in his mind.

"Where? Las Noches of course. Unfortunately I drew the short straw and was saddled with looking after you until Aizen-sama returned. He got back a while ago. I'd advise against escaping by the way."

Las Noches? Aizen? The one that the Guardian worked for? Kaneki recalled Ulquiorra's words.

"Once Aizen-sama was done, he asked me to explain everything to you and bring you to the training room where you'll meet the others. You don't look like much so they probably won't be impressed."

The last comment held a light teasing quality to it.

The woman then snapped her fingers and to Kaneki's surprise, his restraints disappeared. He hesitantly sat up. He was calm now, but was angry and curious despite himself. He briefly considered attacking, but decided to reframe for now.

"What are you? You're obviously a Hollow of some sort, but any others that I've met had Shinigami swords. How come?"

The purple haired girl snorted as though she was dealing with an idiot. "Arrancar, Arrancar, obviously, though I guess you never get out much. We're Hollows that have had most of our mask removed and gained Shinigami powers as a result, such as a Shinigami's swords which are called Zanpakuto by the way. There's hundreds of us here."

Kaneki turned and stood up to his full height as he absorbed what she had said. She definably had his attention now.

"You're serious?"

"Uh-ha."

Kaneki digested the Arrancar's words for several moments. Shinigami blades had always been of interest to him, despite his lack of knowledge about them. Hollows carrying such swords was just…odd. He eyed his…he refused to say babysitter.

"Where's yours?"

She snorted in response, holding up a whip. "Don't worry if you don't want one of these. Mine's special. By the way, here's yours."

She tossed a sheathed sword at Kaneki, who reflectively caught it. It was a tanto, with a blade roughly the same length as his own forearm. The handle was black as was the hilt which was circle shaped. The sheath was the same colour.

Getting confused, Kaneki frowned. "Why is this mine?"

The woman tried to stifle a giggle, but failed. She looked a few seconds away from full out laughter. Wordlessly, she tossed him a mirror that had appeared in her hand out of nowhere.

He looked at his reflection and almost dropped the mirror in shock.

It was as though three quarters of his Hollow mask had been cut away with a knife, leaving most of his face, _human_ face uncovered. The only part of his mask that remained was the lower left section, the part that covered his cheek and the left side of his mouth. Behind his mask's clenched teeth, Kaneki's real teeth were visible as his mouth reflected his surprise.

His face was the same as it had been before he had died, though it looked as though he had aged two years or so. His unmarked skin was as pale as it had been before his death back when he was a Ghoul. His white hair was slightly longer, almost reaching his eyes which were the same pale shade of grey. Hesitantly, as though afraid he might ruin his new face, he slowly reached up and rubbed the palm of his hand against his face, feeling real flesh and skin.

Looking down, Kaneki stared at his now human body which was now adorned in clothes of the colour white, including a hakama as well as a shirt, jacket and sash. His feet were covered by black socks and a pair of sandals.

Kaneki expected to be angry, but instead…he felt wonder? Idly, he remembered his first few days as a Ghoul, how pathetic he had been when grovelling around on the floor, trying to maintain his humanity. After becoming a Hollow however, he had found himself missing his former body despite the power that his new one had granted him at the time. At least, he had wanted his face back.

Simply put, Kaneki currently didn't know what to make of his new appearance.

Eventually, he turned to look at the female Arrancar, who was still looking at him patiently.

"Your Aizen-sama is here? Am I allowed to speak with him?"

"Not yet brat, not until I give you a crash course in Arrancar biology and show you what we can do. Aizen-sama put me in charge of getting you up to speed on everything so the faster you catch up, the faster you get to meet him and prove if you're really Espada worthy material."

Kaneki frowned, but nodded. "Okay then."

He would play along for now so that he could meet Aizen and see what he had to say. He held Kaneki's interest, but he would die if he tried anything. Kaneki fingered the handle of his new blade.

"Good. By the way what's your name? Teaching a guy whose name I don't know is stupid."

"…Kaneki Ken."

"Cirucci Sanderwicci, Privaron Espada. Let's get started then."

 **XXXXX**

 **Yeah, you might all disagree, but I am so cruel. Putting Gin and Mado in the same division and all. Really sorry Kira, I currently don't envy you at all or what you have to put up with.**

 **Next chapter Kaneki meets Aizen and the Espada. To avoid execution, he has to challenge a current one in a fight to the death for that one's position. Who do you think Kaneki will pick?**

 **See you all next chapter.**

 **Translations:**

 **Sherukurasshā: Shell Crusher**


End file.
